Adult Psychological Services

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Initial Appointment

Bryn Mawr Psychological Associates provides therapy to adults of
all ages. The initial evaluation provides an opportunity for you
and your psychologist to meet each other and to start the process
of discussing the issues of concern to you. Your therapist will
talk with you about your background, family, and current day life
in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the difficulties
for which you are seeking support. By the end of the initial appointment
there should be direction and planning for how therapy can be of
benefit to you. You should have a good sense when you leave the
first session that your psychologist can help you. Ongoing therapy
sessions are typically scheduled once a week or once every other
week in the early months. Often this changes to an "as needed"
basis of less frequency as improvement is achieved. Our primary
treatment orientation is Cognitive Behavorial Therapy (CBT) although
other orientations are often utilized. Our primary goal
is to help all adults who meet with us to develop effective coping
skills, and to reclaim their happiness and sense of fulfillment.

College Students

It is fairly common throughout the year for parents to reach out to us from long distance to enquire about the potential benefit of counseling for their college student and how best to follow through with that. We are happy to converse with any parent to see if we can be of help or offer any other resources.

There are many excellent colleges in close proximity to Bryn Mawr Psychological Associates. Our practice is accessible by car, train, and walking (depending upon the college). College is a time of excitement and new experiences for young people but also a time of new stressors such as balancing relationships, academic independence, easy access to substances, and less personal support/guidance from parents.

Some students come to college with known challenges such as substance use, academic challenges, mood or anxiety disorders, ADHD, and Aspergers. Often parents do not learn that a difficult situation has developed until after their college-age young adult is experiencing serious academic issues sometimes preceded by other significant concerns such as avoiding classes, escalated substance use, excessive gaming, withdrawal from their peers, or having gotten into a problematic relationship.

Young Adults

Some of the most common reasons for young adults to seek psychological
services include relationship issues, problems with job/career,
stress from college, anger, and problems with substance use. This
is also a time that young adults often struggle with psychological
issues such as depression, anxiety, and ADD. Sleep, family relationships,
studying, romantic relationships, and judgment can all be adversely
affected. Despite many positives, young adults sometimes report
this as being the period of feeling the most in crisis in their
lives. A common referral to our practice is for young adults who are high functioning on the autism spectrum and struggling with progressing successfully in college, employment, or independent living.

Adults

Adults cope daily with a wide range of internal and environmental
stressors and most of the time are capable of doing so. However,
sometimes the stressors become too overwhelming or may be worsened
by a health or work crisis leading to psychological strain beyond
what may be manageable without additional support. Distressing situations
with children, aging parents, or marital problems are often a contributing
factor. Loneliness, lack of social support, family conflict, anxiety,
and sleep problems are common symptoms resulting from the above
issues. Many adults seek therapy to converse with an objective,
supportive, trained psychologist and to develop strategies for overcoming
their distress. Some adults attend just a few sessions
while others with long-standing emotional or personal issues continue
to work with a psychologist for an extended time.

Senior Adults

We work with adults who are newly retired as
well as those in their 80’s and 90’s. Older adults seek therapy
for a wide range of issues including coping with the change that
retirement brings, anxiety, significant health issues, marital concerns,
loss of a spouse, and loneliness. Meeting with a psychologist is
often a new experience for senior adults. However, they often report
appreciation for the opportunity to talk over their concerns in
a comfortable, supportive atmosphere and to gather additional perspective.

Couples/Marital

Couples/Marital counseling is
one of the most common reasons people seek therapy and one of the
most challenging to treat. Each partner brings a unique history
with finances, relatives, intimacy, etc., into the relationship.
The marriage can then face further challenges of child-rearing,
health concerns, work-life balance and/or concerns about infidelity.
Often communication and closeness break down and everyday interactions
become painful. Providing a safe and objective setting for
partners to talk with each other with careful therapeutic intervention
is essential for good progress in therapy. At times much can be
gained in just a few sessions and for others the work is more involved.
Therapeutic goals include healthy communication, transcending
the past, respect for the needs of involved children, and determining
best choices for the future.

Parenting

Parents with children of all ages seek therapy from us for difficult
matters regarding their children. Many times parents are looking
for reassurance as to whether or not their child’s behavior is within
the normal range and will improve all on its own. For parents of
very young children there are often concerns about eating, sleeping,
separation anxiety, and managing tantrums. Parents of school age
children seek a wide variety of services for behavioral, emotional,
and educational concerns outlined in the Child and Adolescent section.
Peer issues, academic struggles, perfectionism, substance use, and violation of house rules are frequent concerns of parents with adolescents. Middle-age
and older adults sometimes face stressful issues of troubling romantic
relationships of their children and multigenerational conflicts
involving their children and grandchildren. See Child &
Adolescent Services for much more detail on our services for parents/families/children.

Bryn Mawr Psychological Associates is located along Pennsylvania's Main
Line. Our office is based in Bryn Mawr, which is convenient to Ardmore,
Wayne, Radnor, Haverford, Newtown Square, Villanova, Wynnewood, Lower
Merion, Havertown, Berwyn, Devon, Paoli, Rosemont, Gladwyne, Narberth,
Broomall, West Chester, Media and other towns in Montgomery County, Delaware
County, and Chester County, PA.